Sniper In 1972 Hyman joined the
glam punk band
Sniper. Sniper played at the
Mercer Arts Center,
Max's Kansas City and the Coventry, alongside
New York Dolls,
Suicide, and
Queen Elizabeth III. Hyman played with Sniper under the name Jeff Starship. Hyman continued playing with Sniper until early 1974, when he was replaced by Alan Turner.
Ramones In 1974, Jeffrey Hyman co-founded the
punk rock band the
Ramones with friends
John Cummings and
Douglas Colvin. The Ramones were a major influence on the punk rock movement in the United States, though they achieved only minor commercial success. Their only record with enough U.S. sales to be certified gold in Ramone's lifetime was the compilation album
Ramones Mania. Recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now represented in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the
Rolling Stone lists of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time and 25 Greatest Live Albums of All Time,
VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, and Mojo's 100 Greatest Albums. In 2002, the Ramones were voted the second greatest rock and roll band ever in
Spin, behind
the Beatles. In 1996, after a tour with the
Lollapalooza music festival, the band played its final show and then disbanded.
Other projects in New York City. One of Ramone's earliest side projects was with a band called the Seclusions in 1983. Ramone sang vocals alongside his brother Leigh on a cover of the song
"Nothing Can Change the Shape of Things to Come" from the album
Isolation For Creation. Also appearing on the track were
Jimmy Destri,
Holly Beth Vincent,
Jimmy Ripp,
Busta Jones, and
Jay Dee Daugherty. In 1985, Ramone joined
Steven Van Zandt's music industry activist group
Artists United Against Apartheid, which campaigned against the
Sun City resort in South Africa. Ramone and 49 other recording artists – including
Bob Dylan,
Bruce Springsteen,
Keith Richards,
Lou Reed and
Run DMC – collaborated on the song "
Sun City", in which they pledged they would never perform at the resort. In 1994, Ramone appeared on the
Helen Love album
Love and Glitter, Hot Days and Music, singing the track "Punk Boy". Helen Love returned the favor, singing on Ramone's song "
Mr. Punchy". In October 1996, Ramone headlined the "Rock the Reservation" alternative rock festival in Tuba City, Arizona. "Joey Ramone & the Resistance" (Daniel Rey on guitar, John Connor on bass guitar and Roger Murdock on drums) debuted Ramone's interpretation of Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World" live, as well as Ramone's choice of Ramones classics and some of his other favorite songs, such as
the Dave Clark Five's "Any Way You Want It",
the Who's "
The Kids are Alright" and
the Stooges' "
No Fun". Ramone co-wrote and recorded the song "Meatball Sandwich" with
Youth Gone Mad. For a short time before his death, he took the role of manager and producer for the punk rock band
the Independents. His last recording as a vocalist was backup vocals on the album
One Nation Under by Navajo punk band
Blackfire. He appeared on two tracks, "What Do You See" and "Lying to Myself". Ramone produced the
Ronnie Spector EP
She Talks to Rainbows in 1999. It was critically acclaimed but was not very commercially successful. The title track was previously on the Ramones' final studio album,
¡Adios Amigos! == Vocal style ==